


One Special Night

by Talinor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blade of Marmora Lotor (Voltron), Bonding, Flirting, Keitor Exchange 2018, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-04-30 23:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14507817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: "So," Keith stopped at the sleek wide open doors to look back at Lotor. "Your idea of a good first night off was using a combat sim?" He raised a brow. "Isn't that kinda... counter-productive?"





	One Special Night

**Author's Note:**

> my piece of Keitor Exchange for cagethestars!  
> they asked for keitor relaxing/training together, so I (technically) went with both!  
> enjoy!

"So," Keith stopped at the sleek wide open doors to look back at Lotor. "Your idea of a good first night off was using a combat sim?" He raised a brow. "Isn't that kinda... counter-productive?"

Lotor simply shrugged as an answer. "I believed you needed to relieve some stress," he said, his smile magnified by the many fluctuating neon lights illuminating his figure. Which, for the first time in a long while, wasn't adorned in the Blade of Marmora uniform. It was casual and simple- so much so that few people would be able to tell that it was still somewhat protective. Not as much as his actual uniform, but as much as he could get while still looking like a civilian out on the town for the night.

"Plus, if we are to be partners, we must learn to fight together efficiently. Thus," he gestured to the currently faded neon orange sign floating just above them. "The combat simulations."

"So this is basically just more risky team training? Or are you trying to bond with me?" Keith's tone was unimpressed, but honestly? He didn't mind the idea all that much. Since they were assigned together to carry out the Blade's missions, the two of them had finally gotten the chance to meet and _actually talk_ to each other. Not as much as Keith found out he'd wanted, after actually getting to know the secretive ex-prince a little bit.

A combat simulator wasn't the worst idea ever. Just not one he'd really expected. There were plenty of other places to spend an evening along the bistro where they spent their night of leave. In all honesty, he was hoping for something more... peaceful. Somewhere they could actually talk.

But apparently talking would wait.

Lotor looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "You could say that," he said. "The latter is a pretty fair interpretation, at least." For a moment, Keith wanted to ask what that was even supposed to _mean._ Yet the Universe seemed hell-bent on not letting him talk. He didn't even get the chance to open his mouth before something interrupted him.

They both looked into the fairly packed building as a ding sounded overhead. _"Private Sim Group Evikta open,"_ a pleasant-sounding computerized voice informed them all. _"Group Evikta, please proceed to your setting room."_

Lotor turned to him with a slight smile. "That's us," he said. "It's time to start." He gestured almost gentlemanly to the door. "After you, partner."

Keith rolled his eyes at that. "You do know we can both go in pretty easily, right? The doorway's _huge._ You don't have to do that."

Lotor shrugged. "I know that," he admitted, then shot Keith a peculiarly soft look he'd never really gotten before. He... didn't really know how to feel about it. So he decided to tuck that away till later, when he could deal with those feelings all alone. "But I've always believed in a simple principle-" he gave Keith a slight smile. His eyes were faded spotlights, pointed solely on him with a warm glow instead of a harsh heated concentration. "Beauty before age. Thus," he kept his gesture up. "You would go first."

"See," Keith spoke up before he really thought about it. "That's where you're wrong."

Lotor seemed willing to play along with it, raising a brow in mock (or maybe even _genuine)_ curiosity. "Really?" He asked, taking a step toward Keith. The height difference between the two of them was only increasingly obvious from such a short distance. The former prince towered nearly an entire head above him, and he was silently smug about such a simple fact. "How so?"

It wasn't a deterrent, though. Honestly, he had no idea how things had suddenly flipped onto their head like this. The two of them were pretty amiable with each other, but it hadn't been like this. None of their past interactions had been like this. It was like a silent and sudden wave that washed him offshore, swept him into the deep like he was nothing but a child's toy. He was left confused and acting on his instinct to go with the current rather than against it.

So Keith simply tilted his head up to meet Lotor's gaze and spoke with a simple smile. "It's pretty easy," he gestured to the figure in front of him. "Have you _seen_ yourself?" This was complete unabashed honesty. Lotor was a pretty attractive-looking man. "Even if you're older than I am, you still have to follow your own little principle- you're the most beautiful person I have ever seen. Including me, of course." He flickered his gaze away for a moment as he spoke, mainly so he wouldn't see Lotor's reaction to what he'd said right away.

When he returned his gaze to its original spot, he was... surprised by what he saw. Mainly because Lotor looked... pretty much the same way Keith felt upon seeing his reaction. Wide-eyed, brow-raising, smile-wiping, honest-to-god _surprise._ For the life of him, once their eyes met, they couldn't seem to pull away.

Well, that wasn't really right. Keith knew both of them were perfectly capable of moving their eyes away from each other. It wasn't a question of words like _couldn't_ or _shouldn't._ it was simply that neither of them wanted to. They were swept up and out to sea, and they both knew it. They just wanted to take in such rare and mesmerizing moments of just unspoken yet complete understanding while they still could. Until they were interrupted by something like--

_"Group Evikta, please proceed to sign in. Again- Group Evikta, please proceed to sign in. Failure to comply in the next 5 doboshes will result in the termination of your reservation."_

...Yeah. He was pretty much expecting something like that to happen. That was just their luck, honestly. That didn't make it any less jarring, though.

Lotor was the first one to recover from it, averting his eyes away from Keith's almost... shyly. It was a strange thing to experience, seeing someone like Lotor acting shy about something. Let alone a pretty easy compliment to make. There was plenty more that Keith could come up with off the top of his head, but he decided not to voice them. He definitely filed Lotor's peculiar reaction away for later, however. For purposes Keith wasn't entirely sure of yet.

"Well," Lotor said with a strained chuckle. "We shouldn't keep the administration waiting much longer. Especially on such petty matters. You're right, let's just go in together." He extended an arm to Keith. "Shall we?"

Keith was quick to mirror his smile and take his arm. "We shall." He started to move into the entry hallway lit up with various pictures of assorted victors standing over giant nasty-looking simulated creatures with a great sense of pride. With their own very real wounds to prove such a feat. "Come on- I don't think 5 doboshes is very long."

"It's not," Lotor said with a nod and increased pace to stay at Keith's side. "...But first," he stopped the both of them completely. "I must say something to you."

"Trust me," Keith told him. "I really wanna know what that is, but I saw how much reservations to this place are on the holos outside. I don't wanna waste your money for nothing."

"Don't worry about that," Lotor said immediately, without hesitation. "Money means very little to me. You, on the other hand?" He left the insinuation of that hanging in the air for Keith to quickly snag onto. He continued on to his main point quickly. "I must tell you this now, for I doubt you get to hear this as often as you need to." He put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You are a capable warrior and even more so being. Don't sell yourself short- you don't deserve it." It was easy to see in every detail on his face- he meant every word of what he'd said.

"I-" Keith raised his brows in slight surprise at that. His expression melted quickly into gratefulness. "Thank you, Lotor. And... keep your words in mind for yourself." He gave his partner a slight smile. "They also apply to you in a way that... I don't think you really acknowledge." He raised a brow. "You know what I mean?"

Lotor raised his brows at that, but they were quick to drop as his expression softened into a pretty familiar one. "I believe I do," he said. "Thank you." He quirked up a brow. "Now, would you like to go pick out the details of our evening-long match, with nothing but each other and a few provided weapons and welfare gear?"

"Depends," Keith said with a hum. "Are we able to pick Galra forces?"

Lotor nodded. "Naturally. Only for special requests, though." He shot Keith a self-satisfied smile. "And I already did so. Not to mention Zarkon is programmed to show up at a random time. So," he raised a brow. "Are you ready for this, partner?"

Keith was quick to nod in response. "Hell yeah I am," he said, moving them along once again. "Let's do it, partner."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated!  
> My tumblr: squishy--squish


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